How much (not pokemon) 'parody' can you use in your game? :)

Started by LeonDaydreamer, Fri 27/10/2017 16:11:26

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LeonDaydreamer

Hi guys, I wondered if you had some thoughts on this.
I made a tiny *Pouchmon parody (it's clearly not Pokemon) for my project A Near Dawn. I mostly put together this vid for fun, because I already had most of the art assets for it (and I kind of love it) :)



But that got me thinking... Would Nintendo object if I had this in the actual game? I mean is it too similar (what might I have to change)?

Click'd

This might be too close for comfort. Especially in a commercial game.

Danvzare

Well considering how Scary Movie and those other similar movies did their parodies. I'd say it would be fine. But then again, Nintendo can be quite protective. :-\

LeonDaydreamer

Quote from: ClickClickClick on Fri 27/10/2017 16:16:23
This might be too close for comfort. Especially in a commercial game.
I was afraid you were going to say that.  :)

Quote from: Danvzare on Fri 27/10/2017 16:50:25
Well considering how Scary Movie and those other similar movies did their parodies. I'd say it would be fine. But then again, Nintendo can be quite protective. :-\
That's the thing, actually. How does that work? I mean Robot Chicken has even used Disney characters for some of the dirtiest parodies. I can't believe Disney is okay with that... And yet it exists. Maybe Nintendo will be merciful?  :)

Mandle

I don't know what laws naysayers above think Nintendo has available to them but the last time I checked parody is pretty much protected worldwide as long as you don't use actual ripped images and/or soundtracks from the original source.

Otherwise The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, SNL, etc. etc. would have been getting sued into oblivion by now.

Click'd

Quote from: Mandle on Sat 28/10/2017 16:54:40
Otherwise The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, SNL, etc. etc. would have been getting sued into oblivion by now.
They have a lot more money behind them compared to a little game maker.

Cassiebsg

Yes, though, as long as his game doesn't actually handle on that and it's just a small parody on the side then he should be safe.

Quote
In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement.
Source: https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

Mandle

Quote from: ClickClickClick on Sat 28/10/2017 17:11:41
Quote from: Mandle on Sat 28/10/2017 16:54:40
Otherwise The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, SNL, etc. etc. would have been getting sued into oblivion by now.
They have a lot more money behind them compared to a little game maker.

Are you suggesting that the reason why they are able to do parody of existing and even trademarked commodities is because they have a lot of money?

I don't understand. Do you mean they are getting sued but have enough money to pay? Or that they settle out of court every time? Or that companies are afraid to sue them because of how much money they have?

I think you'll find that it is because parody is protected under law as a genuine creative art in and of itself and that this law covers everybody regardless of their financial position.

Weird Al is perfectly within his rights to earn a living by creating parodies of other people's songs. He happens to be a nice enough guy to ask the artists if they mind him doing one of their songs and he respects their wishes. But he doesn't have to do this by law.

And he's not getting away with it because he's rich.

Danvzare

Quote from: Mandle on Sun 29/10/2017 00:40:46
Quote from: ClickClickClick on Sat 28/10/2017 17:11:41
Quote from: Mandle on Sat 28/10/2017 16:54:40
Otherwise The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, SNL, etc. etc. would have been getting sued into oblivion by now.
They have a lot more money behind them compared to a little game maker.

Are you suggesting that the reason why they are able to do parody of existing and even trademarked commodities is because they have a lot of money?

I don't understand. Do you mean they are getting sued but have enough money to pay? Or that they settle out of court every time? Or that companies are afraid to sue them because of how much money they have?
No, it's because if LeonDaydreamer gets sued, he'll be doomed. Even if he manages to find enough money to win the case, he'll probably still struggle to pay for the legal fees. But if a big corporation gets sued, they'll be able to easily pay off all of the legal fees, without a single bit of stress.

The court favours the rich.

LeonDaydreamer

Quote from: Danvzare on Sun 29/10/2017 15:19:57No, it's because if LeonDaydreamer gets sued, he'll be doomed. Even if he manages to find enough money to win the case, he'll probably still struggle to pay for the legal fees. But if a big corporation gets sued, they'll be able to easily pay off all of the legal fees, without a single bit of stress.

The court favours the rich.
No... I don't want to be doomed!  :)
I think that's a fair point, even if it is protected by law if Nintendo decided to move a case against someone, it would cost them a lot of money just to defend themselves. I think I heard that Hasbro (Transformers and My Little Pony) was very strict about these sorts of things. I guess a lot of smaller companies might end up filing for bankruptcy altogether just to avoid the legal troubles?  :/

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